Preview: Dakota Valley Panthers vs. Groton Tigers
The Dakota Valley Panthers will head out on the road to challenge the Groton Tigers at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Dakota Valley focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine on Friday.
Dakota Valley scored the most points they've had all season to find success. They blew past Dell Rapids 79-44 at home. Given Dakota Valley's advantage in MaxPreps' South Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked 22nd, while Dell Rapids is ranked 107th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Emersen Mead was a one-man wrecking crew for Dakota Valley as she almost dropped a triple-double on 16 points, nine rebounds, and nine steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Mead has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Cameryn Sommervold, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds and six steals.
Meanwhile, Groton came up short against Mobridge-Pollock on Saturday and fell 41-33. Groton has struggled against Mobridge-Pollock recently, as their game on Saturday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Dakota Valley's victory bumped their record up to 12-6. As for Groton, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-6.
Dakota Valley beat Groton 43-35 in their previous matchup back in February of 2019. Does Dakota Valley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Groton turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
